Jehovah-Rohi (the Lord my Shepherd) is compelling us to follow Him into restoration and rest, so that he might “pitch his tent” in our midst. The Lord says in Exodus 29:45, “I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God”. To dwell/pitch his tent is the word shekinah, meaning “to abide by, or to settle down beside”. This word is not speaking in terms of a passing presence, but a permanent one. Our Shepherd offers to come to us in the midst of our pain and to sit by our side. He promises to bind up our wounds and strengthen the parts of us that are downcast. The Glory of God in our midst~ the abiding, everlasting presence of the Lord. He says to us, “I want to restore you. And I’m going to do it by being very present with you, even in the valley and shadow of death. My presence will be with you. I will bind up your wounds and heal you and make you whole.” David writes in Psalm 42:11, “Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” We all need to have our souls restored from time to time Even sheep (in the natural) can be “cast down”. It happens when a sheep has turned itself over on its back and cannot get up on its own; the Shepherd needs to arrive on the scene within a short time or the sheep will die. This is a reason the shepherd is counting his sheep…to see if anyone is missing~ maybe it is cast down? In that state it is easy prey, helpless and vulnerable. How does a sheep become cast down?

The sheep that chooses the soft ground to lie is very often becomes cast down. For us, that soft ground is the comfortable position where there is no hardship; no need for endurance; in Pilgrim’s Progress this ground is called “the enchanted grounds” & Christian (main character in the allegory) is warned to not stay too long in this place.

The sheep has too much wool and when the fleece gets too long, it will get heavily matted with mud, manure, burrs, etc….it is much easier for a sheep to be cast down. Wool in scripture depicts the flesh. Ask yourself, “Where am I clinging to worldly ideas/ possessions/etc that would weigh me down?”; the high priest in Old Testament was not allowed to wear wool into the Holy of Holies….NOW sheep do not like being sheered, but it must be done. Oh the pleasure of being set free from the weight!

The sheep are too fat; the fattest are most cast down. The weight makes it much harder for them to be agile and nimble on their feet. We need to watch for the signs of “fatness”~ feeling we have “arrived”; sense of well-being; sure of ourselves~ we are prone to fall flat and be cast down.

The shepherd will spend hours looking for a single sheep that is missing (this is his livelihood). When the sheep is found, the shepherd has to tenderly roll the sheep over and lift her onto her feet… Our shepherd sees us in our helpless, vulnerable state and his attentiveness does not allow for us to stay cast down for long…he comes in gently and tenderly to lift us up. “HE RESTORES MY SOUL…”